Friday, August 24, 2007

Changes in California climate tied to water supply

VenturaCounty Star: Global climate change will have dramatic effects on California's water resources, reducing the Sierra snowpack by at least 25 percent by 2050, decreasing spring runoff into the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and contributing to more severe droughts. And state and local water agencies will have but one choice in dealing with all this: adapt.

That was the conclusion of experts who testified Thursday at a hearing of the State Water Resources Control Board — a hearing that Chairwoman Tam Dudoc called the state's "first formal forum on the nexus between climate change and water resources." Lester Snow, director of the Department of Water Resources, testified that the effects of climate change are great unknowns as the state makes plans to meet future water needs.

"Our water future is a lot more uncertain than our water past," he said. "Our droughts are going to get deeper and longer — that is not a question. The only question is: How much deeper and how much longer?" The effects of climate change, he said, have added urgency to such efforts as strengthening Delta levees and building additional water storage capacity.

Regional water experts testified the best strategies for dealing with the challenges are to increase conservation and to make better use of reclaimed water and local groundwater resources. Implementing those steps, they said, would not only maximize the state's water supply but also help reduce greenhouse gas emissions because they require far less energy than pumping more water from Northern California to the south…

Tim Brick, chairman of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, said the agency's experience in responding to the drought of the early '90s has provided "a model of adaptability" that will help meet future challenges.

… studies of the Colorado River watershed conclude that climate changes will result in a 10 percent to 40 percent reduction in river flows. "What we now consider a drought is going to be a permanent condition by 2040," he said.

June 2009 – At the studios of Cleanskies TV, I was interviewed about the costs of climate change, and discussed adaptation efforts underway in the US and around the world.

May 2009 – I helped draft the scenarios for Rising Waters, a multistakeholder scenarios effort focused on climate change adaptation in the Hudson Valley. The final report is now completed and available here.

May 2008 – I reviewed two books on climate and energy in the New Leader magazine: James Gustave Speth's The Bridge at the Edge of the World: Capitalism, the Environment and Crossing from Crisis to Sustainability, plus Robert Bryce's Gusher of Lies: The Dangerous Delusions of Energy Independence.

January 2008 – A very local paper covers a very global issue.... The Litchfield County Times in northwestern Connectictut ran an article in January 2008 about Carbon-Based.

Now available: Climate Change Adaptation in 2011

A selection of my writings from 2011, plus some of my posts, as well as links... all focusing on the risks of climate change